We’ve returned to G1 status following in-depth assessment by regulator

We have regained our G1 rating with the Regulator of Social Housing.

The regulator is the body responsible for overseeing registered social housing providers. It rates providers based on their governance and financial viability. Following an in-depth assessment (IDA), we have secured the highest governance rating.

In October 2021, six months after our merger, we were downgraded from G1 to G2. This reflected significant risks associated with the lack of up-to-date health and safety information about our homes including fire risk assessments, asbestos surveys, and electrical reports, which came to light during data record checks completed following our merger. When we discovered these breaches, we self-reported them to the regulator.

Ruth Cooke, our Chief Executive said: “Over the last two years our focus has been on resolving the issues which led to the downgrade in our governance rating, and we’ve made transformational changes as a result.

“We put in place our Building Safety Recovery Plan to rectify the safety issues with our homes and initiated wide-ranging changes to the governance and leadership of our organisation. Huge progress has been made and we recently received the green light from Savills that we have completed the relevant property checks and put in place improved processes and procedures.

“There is still a lot of work to be done and we have substantial programmes of works to complete, including completing a two-year programme of fire safety works. However, our return to the top governance rating of G1 following an IDA by the regulator represents important recognition of the improvements we have made, and demonstrates the regulator is now satisfied we meet their governance requirements.

“This is a significant step forward for GSA and it was pleasing to see the regulator recognise in its judgement that our refreshed Simpler, Stronger, Better business strategy provides a clear roadmap for the future with a renewed focus on investment, quality and data.”

In its judgement, the regulator noted that we have strengthened our governance and compliance frameworks. It also said it was clear that our refreshed Board and Executive Team have set a revised strategy that simplifies our organisation’s activities and structure and prioritises investment in existing homes. The regulator also noted that we have accelerated our programme of fire risk assessments, asbestos and electrical safety testing, stock condition surveys and now have robust, reliable, and up-to-date data on which we have based our compliance and reinvestment programmes.